Isuzu NPS300 Post or Pre 2008 - Riddle me this

[smudha]

Hi all, I was hoping some of you could give me some more information to work with in relation to choosing a Pre or Post 2008 Isuzu NPS300

I have pretty much settled on the Isuzu NPS300 – my problem now is deciding on 2007 and older, OR 2008 and newer (when the EGR and DPF were introduced, and the body changed).

I’ve spent hours on this, staring at Isuzu body diagrams and working out total heights once I have built subframes and such for the camper build. But I’m at an impasse.

Requirements –

This is going to be an international expedition vehicle, so WILL have to deal with dirty diesel and high sulphur. We will be spending the majority of our time out in the middle of nowhere, so simplicity and ease of repair in the middle of nowhere will also be important. Physical size of the vehicle isn’t so important as I have already decided on limiting ourselves to RORO capable ports (roll on roll off cargo vessels), so I don’t need to build the camper to fit inside a shipping container.

Here’s my dilemma split up into Pre and Post 2008

Pre 2008 Pro’s –

• No EGR and DPF (or DPD) (iffy diesel, no problem)
• Less electronics
• Cheaper to find

Pre 2008 Con’s –

• Rough, Tend to have much higher KM’s
• Older looking (really only an ego thing).
• Less mods and accessories available (The dual alternator setup I’m looking at might not fit the pre 2008 NPS300).
• Sloped chassis behind cap (more work involved in building subframe and camper body to deal with this)

Post 2008 Pro’s

• Newer look
• Exhaust and air intake behind cab seems to take up less space, so more space for camper build.
• Completely flat chassis rails
• More mods and accessories available easily
• Nicer interior and a bit more comfortable

Post 2008 Con’s

• EGR and DPF (DPD). There are delete services out there, but I don’t know whether doing this vs buying an older vehicle where it just isn’t a problem is better?
• Assuming more electronics that can go wrong, or more, aren’t something a back end of Pakistan mechanic would be able to fix/diagnose
• Chassis is higher (but again, I’ve already decided that size isn’t a problem).

Now, if we were just going to be messing around in Australia or Europe, I wouldn’t be worried about bad diesel messing with the engine, but because we will be trekking around the Stans and India, (then potentially south America), I need to be conscious of iffy fuel and high sulphur.

My biggest concern is the electronics. I currently have a 2008 Mercedes sprinter and MY GOD I hate the electronics and how TINY LITTLE INSIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS cannot be fixed by any random mechanic. The fact that I can connect a OBDII reader to it and see that it has problems but not do anything about them because the codes are proprietary is frustrating to no end, and I’m really worried that having a newer Isuzu in the middle of nowhere could have the same problem. But I guess I also don’t know how much electronics the post 2008 NPS300 has and how much control the computer has on it. Does anyone have experience with this?

Like, would a 2008 NPS300 with an EGR delete and a DPF delete/removal, be just as good as a 2007 NPS300 without that gear in the first place? Or are there more electronics to worry about in the 2008 that makes the risk lean more towards the 2007 with the older body and less comfort?

I have looked all over the place trying to find a post on this matter, and I have found plenty of people saying how much they like their NPS300 and how well they run after the EGR/DPD delete, so I keep coming back to the idea of the post 2008 with the EGR/DPF delete.

I’m kind of hoping that being a Service and Commercial vehicle that they are built with less computer reliance than the Merc Sprinter, I just don’t know.

 

[Andy Hino]

Ive owed 4 , NPR 4x2 trucks for my business.
Oldest was 1997, newest was 2002 and between them, the boys put on more than 2 million km's
Apart from regular servicing, I spent the grand total of $75 repairing them. (Cracked exhaust stack bracket)

So when it came time to buy a new truck for a new business a few years ago, it was a no brainer to go for another Isuzu, right?
Not really. Every person I know that had an early build post 2008 with DPF and EGR had nothing but trouble with them so I ended up buying a Hino (which I still have and its been faultless, but only has about 140,000 kms on it)

So what's better? Well I cant really say other than this. The earlier stuff was all mechanical injection and didn't much care what fuel you put in it
The newer stuff will be all electronic injection so even if you do the DPF/EGR delete, there is still no guarantee you won't have trouble with high sulphur fuels
My money on a round the world rig would be an earlier model

 

[smudha]

Oldest was 1997, newest was 2002 and between them, the boys put on more than 2 million km's

Andy you're making my decision easier. I've found a 2003 NPS300, in "okay" condition for $25k (AUD), and I think I'm going to pull the trigger on it. I've made a deal with the owner to take it to a truck mechanic next week to have a once over, quote on some replacement parts that are obvious, and essentially just tell me it's not a lemon. Hearing from guys like yourself that have put 2mil+ km on these older trucks just gives me more confidence in them.

 

[Andy Hino]

Andy you're making my decision easier. I've found a 2003 NPS300, in "okay" condition for $25k (AUD), and I think I'm going to pull the trigger on it. I've made a deal with the owner to take it to a truck mechanic next week to have a once over, quote on some replacement parts that are obvious, and essentially just tell me it's not a lemon. Hearing from guys like yourself that have put 2mil+ km on these older trucks just gives me more confidence in them.

I cant fault the earlier trucks at all. I wouldn't worry too much about the k's provided it has been regularly serviced, it will be bullet proof